Establishing the South Australian Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre

Paediatric brain cancers are amongst the hardest cancers to treat. Conventional treatment can result in survivors experiencing significant and debilitating long-term complications.

Professor Simon Barry of the University of Adelaide and the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, and his team, aim to change that by establishing the South Australian Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre which brings together three groups of experts in a new collaboration.

Jieren Zheng, Dr Veronika Bandara, Michael Luchich, the Honourable Chris Picton MP, Professor Simon Barry, Dr Michael Osborn, Dr Lisa Ebert, Dr Timothy Sadlon and Professor Michael Brown at the 2023 Bloom Research Program awards night.

WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program funding for the project titled ‘The SA Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre: Developing a new personalised immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers’ will allow them to establish the paediatric cohorts, the immunotherapy manufacturing capability, and a suite of immunotherapy targets.

It is hoped that this research will pave the way for the first SA paediatric clinical trials in immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers, and provide the opportunity to partner with other paediatric oncology centres both nationally and internationally. This ground-breaking research aims to give children with brain and central nervous system cancers not only a better chance of survival, but also a better chance of a healthy future.

Hear more about Professor Barry’s research:

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